Mireille
Interviewer: Christel
Interviewee: Mireille
Transcribers
Name 1: Lilu
Name 2: Pawel
Text
Describe an early experience of understanding empathy
My understanding grew very gradually through training; the effect was that I began to see it missing in particular instances in the past. I realised that I was feeling a lack of understanding that led to me being unable to resolve conflicts. My training allowed me to really see the difference between situations with and w/out empathy.
While I develop my skills with empathy, I forget that they’re skills. It becomes more of an attitude to how I want to be with others.
DO you find that with the knowledge you have now, your ability to relate to others has improved?
Yes, absolutely. In relationships with people close to me, including a person who was at the time my partner and whom I’m co-parenting with at the moment. It has become so much easier to empathise with my child as well (?). With self-empathy, I’m realising how certain environments are destructive bc empathy is missing, so I’m finding myself making very different choices about situations I get into.
Is the impact on your life something you want to communicate to your child?
E isn’t something you can or wish to teach to others; it is an attitude...
Q1-M>For me, empathy it is something i develop my skills around. There are many ways of giving empathy. It becomes more an attitude of how i want to behave with others.
Q2-M>Yes. In the first place, self empathy, then secondly relationships with people close to me . through learning empathy i began to develop peaceful communication with my partner that was becoming at that time my ex-partner.
Empathizing with my parents about things i didn’t understand about my past. Getting clear with myself how certain environments are destructive to me because of the lack of empathy.
Q3-M> i would like to see that empathy is not necessary teach to others. However for my son i see it as a way of being, a role modelling